CENIC - NRP Panel on Future Wireless
February 9, 2023
Robert Kwon
AVP Engineering, CENIC

20,000,000+ Californians use CENIC
● 8,000+ miles of optical fiber
● Members in all 58 counties
connect via fiber-optic cable or
leased circuits from telecom
carriers
● Over 12,000 sites connect to
CENIC
● A non-profit chartered & governed
by its members
● Collaborates with over 750 private
sector partners and contributes
approximately
● > $100,000,000 to the CA
economy
● 25 years of connecting California
The California Research and Education
Network (CalREN)

CENIC is a 501(c)(3) public benefit corporation with the
mission to advance education and research statewide
by providing a world-class network essential for
innovation, collaboration, and economic growth.
Charter Associates:
•California K-12 System
•California Community Colleges
•California State University System
•Stanford, Caltech, USC
•University of California System
•California Public Libraries
•Naval Postgraduate School
Other Members Include:
•Scientific and Cultural Institutions
•Private Colleges and Universities
•Hospitals and Specialized Medical Institutions
•Biomedical, Science, Space, & Environmental Research
Organizations
•Tribal Nations

CENIC and PRP

15 Years of NSF-Funded Real-Time Network Cameras
on San Diego Mountains for Environmental Observations
Mt. Woodson
Red Mt.
Mesa
Grande
Mt.
Laguna
Lyons
Peak
Cabrillo
National
Monument
Red Mountain (near Fallbrook) 360° panorama
Mount Woodson 360° panorama
Mesa Grande 360° panorama, near North Peak 90°+ cameras
Mount Laguna 360° Panorama, Lyons Peak 360° panorama
SMER highlands SW, NW, and NE, Santa Margarita river, Santa Monica Mountains Castro Peak
Cabrillo National Monument 90°+ cameras, tidepools, Visitor Center Skyline
High Performance Wireless Research & Education Network

Work Flow
NSF-Funded WIFIRE Uses PRP/CENIC to Couple Wireless Edge Sensors
With Supercomputers, Enabling Fire Modeling Workflows
Fire
Perimeter
Real-Time Wireless
Meteorological
Sensors
Weather
Forecasts
Landscape
Data
Firemap

PRP Upgrades HPWREN Data Servers,
Connects Them With CENIC/PRP Optical Fiber Backbone
• CENIC/PRP Connects
UCSD and SDSU
– Data Redundancy
– Disaster Recovery
– High Availability
• CENIC Extension to UCI & UCR
– Data Replication Sites
UCI Antenna Dedicated June 27, 2017
Vint Cerf, Louis Fox, Ramesh Rao
Frank Vernon, Larry Smarr

81 Sites connected over wireless
Connected Wireless Site
Includes Libraries, K-
12s, and Remote
Centers for Universities

Potential to Scale Fixed Wireless using
CENIC Optical Fiber Backbone in California
Potential Wireless Extension